About the Collection
One of the finest collections of Western Americana in private hands, the Rees-Jones Library has recently found a home at SMU. Established by Trevor Rees-Jones in the early 21st century, the collection is focused on the history of the Trans-Mississippi West, from St. Louis to San Francisco and St. Paul to San Antonio. Chronologically, it ranges from the age of discovery and exploration by Europeans in the 15th and 16th centuries to the present day, with the most concentrated attention paid to the 19th century.
Major subjects treated include agriculture, art and artists of the West, explorations and surveys, the Hispanic Southwest, immigration, military and war, mines and mining, Native American history and culture, the natural sciences, outlaws and lawmen, overland migration and travel, promotion and tourism, settlement and urbanization, the Transcontinental Railroad, Texas history and women’s studies.
Genres represented include diaries, letters, journals, ledgers, sketches, drawings, maps, travel accounts, books, pamphlets, broadsides, periodicals, newspapers, and photographs, all of which are rare and many of which are unique.
At present, the collection consists of over 30,000 items. The Rees-Jones Library of the American West is scheduled to open in a new facility, built to house the collection, in 2027, where it will be joined by the considerable Western American holdings of the DeGolyer Library, providing scholars and students with extraordinary resources for research.
This “highlights” digital collection is designed to illustrate the breadth of the Rees-Jones collection. More comprehensive digital collections will be added over time, providing online access to a wider range of holdings.